The Sitcoms of the 1970s Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Sitcoms of the 1970s - Essay ExampleThe video recording sitcoms of the 1970s explored our racism, sexism, and descriptor bias and uncovered a reality that exposed the depth of prejudice in America and the television industry.Because television during this period was an evolving event, its helpful to view it somewhat chronologically. By 1970 Leave it to work had been deceased for 7 years. Ozzie and Harriet passed in 1964 and My Three Sons had just two more seasons of life left. The image of the representative American family that consisted of a well employed father living in suburbia had been exposed as a myth and could no longer support a sitcom. The 1960s and the war in Vietnam had change state the countrys innocence and America was ready to explore their new maturity. No other vehicle would spark as much social, political, or cultural debate as the American sitcom during this period.The years 1970 - 1972 were as historic for what was canceled as much as for what was debut ed. In 1971, the rural south was virtually eliminated from the comedy half-hour format. parkland Acres and the Beverly Hillbillies were both canceled. These two shows depicted an unrealistic view of the South and rural America in general. Characters were put in positions that were not believable while portraying a bias against the underlying themes of intolerance and ignorance. Mayberry RFD and Hee Haw, shows that reflected the widely accepted view of rural common sense and decency, also got cut in 1971. These shows would be replaced by more urban and topical settings with characters capable of generating greater controversy and better demographics (Butsch 19). Idealism was macrocosm tempered by network economics. A major theme that ran throughout the 1970s sitcom was the reshaping of our detection of the American home. The picture of the house being headed by a strong father figure was fading. Wowork force were nice more dominant and shown as more independent in shows such as Mary Tyler Moore and Maude. The men were portrayed with character flaws such as Archie Bunker in solely in the Family and Fred Sanford in Sanford and Son. workforce were underemployed and if married lived with a dominant female.This restructuring of the household offered the producers and writers the opportunity to explore issues that the white middle class male could not approach. June chopper could not even discuss abortion, while Maude Findlay could have one. Ward Cleaver did not drink while Walter Findlay, Maudes husband, was an alcoholic (Maude). Many sitcoms of this era were placed in a household where the children were grown. This provided an environment for adult issues to be aired and debated. It would also offer the contrasting social viewpoints that were emerging at the time.No other show propelled the 1970s sitcom genre as much as All in the Family did when it debuted in 1971. Producer Norman Lear had gone to the edges of the American psyche to explore racism. Yet, t elevision was distillery in its adolescence and this was shown in the naivet of the programs plot and writing. Archie Bunker, the lead character, was an avowed bigot who referred to minorities as Spades, Spics, or Hebes and believed that their social gains were coming at the expense of the middle class whites (All in the Family). Lear believed that by playing Bunker as a misguided fool, his bigotry would likewise be